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I am 69 having surgery on August 16. any support is very appreciated.

You may not be eating slowly enough or chewing thoroughly. Make sure your bites are small. Your stomach is still healing and swollen. Give it time.

I didn’t have soft foods until week 4. I was 2 weeks “full” liquids, 1 week puree. Then soft.. even then my plan said if issues, go back to Full Fluids, so perhaps try that?

It very much depends on your insurance requirements as ShoppGirl mentioned. My insurance required 6 months of monitored weight loss, 3 months of nutrition, lung clearance, heart clearance, nutrition classes, surgical classes, psyche clearance, etc. The whole process took approximately 8 months from my first appointment until the day I had my surgery. I was also able to lose 68 pounds in that time so I was at least productive during that time lol.

I am not sure an ESG is a good option for a younger person with a higher BMI. I had an ESG which is now converted to a standard surgical option. Unless the doctor is extremely expericenced in doing ESG the sutures have a high rate of loosening or coming loose all together. About 15 months or so after my ESG an endoscopy showed that had happened to me. Put this together with a young person who may not be so compliant with food volumes etc - eating more than a specified volume amount (consistently) could also cause the sutures to come undone or loosen. ESG leaves a stomach with a bigger volume than the surgical options so average weight loss is less than the surgical options. I believe the ESG average rate of loss of excess weight is 20%. Some people will lose more, some will lose less. I chose the ESG because it was minimally invasive, quicker recovery etc...but after going through the surgical option later, I wish I hadn't let those things sway me.

Update: I heard back from the surgery coordinator and they have submitted the prior authorization with a weight that has a BMI of about 43, so I'm cleared to lose weight again! Yay! Now, if only I hadn't bought that tub of ice cream...

Dr Alex Earle at Pure Plastic Surgery in Miami. He and his team are really awesome.

This is an old thread :) I had my surgery back in January! Feeling great & loving how it all turned out.

How's everyone doing? I'm still fighting insurance company over plastics. Many changes at work are coming up. It's very stressful but there are also some opportunities involved, both in regards to personal development and promotion.

Most doctors won't do lap band anymore because the results aren't very good - most people don't lose too much weight and many people have a lot of complications. A lot of people end up having to have them removed and getting it revised to sleeve or bypass. Is there a reason you really want lap band rather than sleeve or bypass?